I am a T Moblie 7100T customer and bought insurance. I just got a letter from "Asurion" notifing that my per month charges will change to $5.99 and the deductible will be $110 (for a $99 phone). Seems like a bait and switch scam. Who do we call to report this?

Are you thinking that you blackberry is a 99 dollar phone? I hope not... the handheld may initially be $99, but that is only due to carrier subsidies... hence the X year contract... The handhelds are actually much more expensive to replace than $99.

The cost of replacing the phone is not the issue. The issue is that we signed up with TMobile's insurance plan that cost less, and had a lower deductable. Now we are being forced to pay more for less, not my idea of customer service. I am definitly evaluating other options but won't be continueing my TMobile coverage. Any other TMobilers out there have an opinion?

I guess contractually they can get away with it, but I agree that it kinda leaves a bad taste regarding TMo. Didn't the notification letter open up with something like "At T-Mobile, we're always looking for ways to give you more!" and come across like they were doing the customer a favor by raising the rates? Go ahead and jack up the rates, but don't insult my intelligence.

Of course, when I called TMo to complain, they pretty much said, "Hey that has nothing to do with us, that's Asurion." At least they offered to remove the service from my plan, so I'm won't be stuck paying an amount I never agreed to in the first place.

That being said, unless you're within the first 12 months with your phone (where they can ding you as much as $380 to get a new one) the new premiums don't make sense. Paying the $5.99/mo. premium for a year plus a $100 deductible is $171.88. (BTW, the old rate of $3.99/mo. premium for a year plus a $50 deductible is only $97.88 which would make more sense to keep.)

Check with your provider, but after a year, you may be able to get a new 7100 for $199 (after rebate) by extending your contract. I'll probably pay the extra $2/mo. until my year is up, then cancel.

On the whole, TMo offers the best overall price/service package for me, so I guess I'll have to deal with it unless something better comes along.